Translator-Rhapsodite
Editor-Pierce, Proofreader-adjective
The Hourglass Cube of the [Peach Blossom Spring] which contained countless [Films] actually had no lid.
Rather it extended into the abysmal darkness, where another independent space dimension existed.
In that space, there were clusters of white light, floating in mid-air in a seemingly weightless manner.
These light clusters were similar to jellyfish gliding in the sea; however, they were actually energies without corporeal bodies.
They were constantly busy, stretching out their long tentacles to intercept suitable projection segments from a myriad of dimensions of time and space, creating “coordinates” and then submitting them to those bodies of energies with higher authority for review.
After confirming that the world lines pointed to by these coordinates could be joined and influenced by external forces, the reviewers would assign the difficulty coefficients to these “coordinates” one by one, then keep them in the form of a cube and transfer them into the Hourglass Cube, waiting to be drawn by the participants.
And outside of this space, there was another group: The Will.
From a higher perspective, they observed those bodies of energy that were engrossed with collecting and sorting coordinates.
Lucent fibers interweaved like spider webs in the void, their consciousness interacting with each other.
[Has A0551 returned?]
A consciousness responded through the transparent light web.
[Yes, he has returned.]
Another reacted.
[Why was he able to come back?]
[Didn’t the data simulation analysis show that his probability of death was as high as 91.3%?]
[What went wrong?]
The varied questions fired through the lucid web, which was intercepted by several terminals of consciousness until feedback was given within milliseconds.
[According to the data simulation analysis, A0551 only has an 8.7% chance of survival.]
An answer was immediately transmitted through the light web.
[This is based on his previous behavioral patterns and analytical tendencies. The data was obtained through logical calculative simulations.]
This time, more questions flashed through the thoughts of every party. Their queries were summarized into one sentence:
[What caused the 8.7% to happen?]
The answer came a bit later than before.
The Will responsible for answering spent more time on calculation and analysis.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
It took a full two seconds before an accurate answer was transmitted:
[A0551’s behavior pattern has changed.]
Pa jcjishfv:
[A0551 rarely works with a team, so we arranged a [Film] for him based on his preference of acting alone which is mostly 90% of the time, but still requires a collaborative effort to find the optimal solution.]
Immediately after, the setting of the [Painted Wall of Souls] was promptly disseminated to the translucent network so that everyone could understand the details of that [Film].
[However, it’s unexpected that his behavioral pattern has changed and, through coordination, almost perfectly cleared the above-mentioned [Film].]
Coafg gfmflnlcu atlr fzqijcjalbc, jii bo atf wfwyfgr bo atf Qlii ofii lcab j yglfo rlifcmf.
Coafg j wbwfca, j defralbc gfrbcjafv klat fnfgs mbcrmlbercfrr lc atf mgsrajiilcf kfy:
[So what caused A0551 to change?]
——————————–
When Ji Dong woke up, he had already returned to the small black room of the [Peach Blossom Spring] Colosseum.
Lf ibbxfv vbkc ja tlr jqqfjgjcmf: j ibbrf a-rtlga, pfjcr, jcv kbbiis tjlg atja yjgfis gfjmtfv tlr fjgr. Ktf ilaaif wjrafg jcv ibcu tjlg bo atf jcmlfca kbgiv tjv jii vlrjqqfjgfv.
“Great! It’s more refreshing like this.”
As Ji Dong spoke, he stood up and checked his “equipment.”
Indeed, all the disposable items, such as the short knife and flint for self-defense, disappeared except for his beloved longbow that transformed into a bracelet.
He then pulled out a small stack of white paper cutouts from the back pocket of his jeans. It was the B-grade collectible [Onmyoji’s Shikigami (Beginner Level)] that Zhao Zhui gave him. After using it, he still had more than ten sheets left, which he brought back with him.
——Hmm, this B grade collectible is quite useful.
Ji Dong shook his head and thought with some regret, ‘But it’s not good to just keep these remaining sheets for myself. I should find a chance to return them to Zhao Zhui.’
As he pondered, Ji Dong raised his hand and touched the smooth, mirror-like wall of the room.
From where he touched, ripples subsequently materialized.
[Confirming that participant with code C0919 has entered the [Peach Blossom Spring], is conscious, in a good mental state, and ready for interaction.]
The artificial intelligence Xiao Bai appeared before him, transforming into an image of a charming young man.
This time, he wore a silver tailcoat, and his hair was styled into a backcombed look, like a young pianist at a classical music concert.
[Welcome back, C0919. Mr. Ji Dong, I am at your service.]
He smiled slightly at Ji Dong and made a respectful bow.
Ji Dong raised his hand to stop Xiao Bai’s nonsense.
“No need for pleasantries, you can start settling points now.”
[Okay, I will now settle your points for you.]
Xiao Bai was obedient and didn’t waste his master’s time. He went straight to the point and took a deep breath before starting his speech with dramatic flair:
[Film: Painted Wall of Souls; Difficulty Level: B; Main Map Exploration Rate: 52%; Key Map Exploration Rate: 62%; Key Character Contact Rate: 58%…]
Ji Dong slightly frowned as he listened to these numbers.
“Key Character Contact Rate” was a new category for this setting. It was obvious that the points deducted were probably from “Wutongshen” – since he didn’t enter the Tongtian Pavilion at that time, he naturally didn’t make direct contact with the key character boss Wutongshen.
Moreover, not only this category, the numbers in the other areas didn’t seem too high either.
Ji Xiao’niao couldn’t help but feel a little worried about his own points.
[Mainline Completion Rate: 98%; Triggered Achievement: “All Team Members Survived;” Triggered Achievement: “Player Survival Rate Exceeds 30%;” Triggered Achievement: “I Just Won’t Kill You,” achieving a “Perfect Clearance” in accordance.]
Ji Dong’s eyes unconsciously widened when he heard this.
He never expected that he would achieve a “Perfect Clearance” this time!
Xiao Bai finished the remaining settlement:
[The total score obtained above is 38,520 points, with a 50% score bonus from the first clearance of a B-level difficulty [Film] garnering a grand total of 57,780 points.]
“What?!”
Ji Dong practically thought he had heard it wrong.
“Over 57,000 points?!”
Thinking about his performance in the first two [Films], he felt like he had won the lottery and was a little overwhelmed by his sudden wealth.
One must know that he scored just over 3,400 points in the first [Film] and a pitiful score of over 2,500 points in the second [Film] because his mainline completion rate was deducted.
In addition, before entering the [Painted Wall of Souls], he bought [Energy Storing Explosive Candy], strengthened his body, and hired a coach robot to teach him combat skills. He spent a lot of money and only had a pathetic low score of just over 300 points left at the end.
As a result, this time, he completed a lap in the [Film] of B-level difficulty and directly scored over 57,000 points!
Ji Dong’s cheeks turned red as he enthusiastically clenched his fist.
——As expected, the greater the risk, the greater the reward. After the difficulty increased by one level, the score directly added a zero at the end!
“By the way, can you tell me what’s the deal with those last two identical young masters?”
Ji Dong suddenly remembered that he had only seen the beginning of the Easter egg earlier before it was cut off, and he really felt annoyed about it so he couldn’t help but ask.
The AI confirmed:
[Do you want to do a “plot review”?]
Ji Dong nodded.
[Very well. Commencing “plot review.”]
Xiao Bai stepped aside, allowing Ji Dong to view the wall behind him. Ji Dong could then watch the ending scene projected onto the wall. After observing it, he quickly figured out what happened.
It turned out that the bride of the Ming Jian Manor, Mrs. Zhao, was originally from a family of cultivators. Although they had fallen many years ago, even a broken ship has three nails, and a starved camel is still bigger than a horse, their family still had some good things passed down. However, because of the passage of time, no one knew about it.
Mrs. Zhao brought a dowry that included a magic tool—an inkstone that she gave to the young master as an ordinary writing tool.
The pine soot ink was made by an immortal, who achieved his immortality through paintings, by collecting snowmelt, acquiring soot by burning a thousand-year pinewood, and through countless other processes of filtering, melting, crushing, grinding, and forging. Infused with the immortal’s soul, polished by time, and absorbing the essence of heaven and Earth, it unexpectedly became a spirited tool.
However, after being handed down through dozens of generations, no one knew its origin, and it was only regarded as a beautiful inkstone without any special features, so it was left unused.
And since nobody used the inkstone, the spiritual essence within it naturally remained dormant.
It wasn’t until Mrs. Zhao gifted it to the young master of the famous swordsmanship school, who used it to grind ink and paint, that the treasure’s mystical properties were awakened.
Although the young master was still young, he was extremely talented in painting, and with the precious inkstone, he was able to create paintings that had the ability to communicate with the heavens and the earth, creating a “world within the painting.”
However, a great treasure comes with great disaster.
After the paintings were created, auspicious clouds and spiritual lights surrounded the Ming Jian Manor day and night. This attracted the attention of Wutongshen and a group of demons who passed by, who then invaded the manor and killed everyone inside.
The spirit essence within the inkstone witnessed the tragic scene of blood flowing like a river with its own eyes.
Unfortunately, it was only a spiritual tool without a physical body, and it couldn’t even leave the inkstone. It could only watch as the young master died in the study, his blood staining the painted canvas, and flowing onto the inkstone along with the brush.
When it realized what this meant, the spirit tool lost control.
Despite not being able to break free from the constraints of the treasure itself, it could use the painting as a medium to reverse reality and fantasy, trapping everything it wanted into the world inside those paintings.
Whether it was the demons invading the mansion, or the souls of the massacred humans, they were all sealed inside the paintings for a long time, unable to escape or leave.
But even so, the spirit tool was unable to find the young master.
No, it should be said that after forcibly triggering the divine power in the inkstone, it was no longer a simple emotionless spirit that existed only in the inkstone.
In confusion, it forgot who it was.
It even felt that it was the young master who painted the wall, and together with the countless souls in the manor, was forever trapped in this mansion. Gradually, the spirit had forgotten how all of this happened.
It only remembered that it was looking for someone.
As for who it was and how to find them, it has no idea.
——Oh, right! Couldn’t they play hide-and-seek?
……
“Fuck!”
After watching this, Ji Dong’s expression was: “囧”
——…I mean, you guys can be as gay as you want, but can you not involve innocent people?
Ji Xiao’niao watched while complaining.
——After searching for someone in all sorts of ways for hundreds of years, it turned out that the person it was looking for had long been trapped in the inkstone because of its obsession. This plot is really too old-fashioned!
